Stang comes alive in second half in win over Westport

Sometimes a little tough love is all it takes to bring out the best results. That’s what Bishop Stang head coach Ben Figueiredo showed his boys' soccer squad at halftime in their season opener against Westport. After a scoreless first half, the ‘pep talk’ appeared right the ship for the Spar...

By Connor Berube

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

By Connor Berube

Posted Sep. 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 10, 2013 at 10:02 AM

By Connor Berube

Posted Sep. 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Sep 10, 2013 at 10:02 AM

WESTPORT

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Sometimes a little tough love is all it takes to bring out the best results.

That’s what Bishop Stang head coach Ben Figueiredo showed his soccer squad at halftime in their season opener against Westport.

After a scoreless first half, the ‘pep talk’ appeared right the ship for the Spartans, who went on to score three secon- half goals en route to a 3-1 victory over the Wildcats on Monday afternoon at Westport High School.

“We’re a very young team with a lot of juniors and sophomores that were feeling nervous throughout the first half,” Figueiredo said. “There were a few things that I had to fix and it seemed to help a lot.”

The Spartans (1-0) were awarded a direct kick in the 51st minute and it was sophomore Jacob Carlson that came through for Stang as his goal snapped the scoreless tie. David Fernandes was credited with the assist. Stang attacked again at 52:14 when Russell Bolarinho took a wide shot to the left of Westport’s goal post and Liam Saunders whipped the ball into the net for a 2-0 Spartans advantage.

It did not take long for Westport to respond.

Moments later, Richard Hartnett broke through a pack of Stang defenders and laced a worm-burner past the dive to Spartan keeper Aaron Ayers to put the Wildcats on the board and cut their deficit in hal at 2-1.

But Stang regained their two-goal lead at 74:40 thanks to Haden Cordeiro. With all the players grouped to the left of Westport’s goal post, the ball came to Cordeiro on the right and the senior Spartan made an effortless shot that secured Stang’s first win.

“There were a lot of nerves in the first half for us,” said Figueiredo. “We started passing the ball around more in the second half and became more aggressive with our shots.”

Ayers finished with eight saves for the Spartans.

Fatigue occurred for the Wildcats in the second half that resulted in some regression after a strong first.

The Wildcats (0-1) held their own against Stang in the first half, limiting their attacks and showing aggressive ball control. Westport came close nine minutes in to scoring with a header that just missed being a goal.

The Wildcats also flashed impressive defense as a bicycle kick denied a would-be goal for the Spartans. Westport keeper Ryan Martel chalked up seven saves and 12 overall.